Panel comprising composite of discrete particles and network of interconnected mycelia cells

ABSTRACT

The composite material is comprised of a substrate of discrete particles and a network of interconnected mycelia cells bonding the discrete particles together. The mycelia cells are selected from the group consisting of at least one of  Agrocybe brasiliensi, Flammulina velutipes, Hypholomoa capnoides, Hypholoma sublaterium, Morchella angusticeps, Macrolepiota procera  and  Coprinus comatus . The fungus digests the nutrient material over a period of time sufficient to grow hyphae and to allow the hyphae to form a network of interconnected mycelia cells through and around the discrete particles thereby bonding the discrete particles together to form a self-supporting composite material.

This application is a Division of application Ser. No. 12/001,556, filedDec. 12, 2007.

This invention claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No.60/927,458 filed May 3, 2007, the contents of which is incorporated byreference herein.

This invention relates to a method for producing grown materials and tothe products made by the method. More particularly, this inventionrelates to methods for producing organic constructions. Still moreparticularly, this invention relates to methods for producing organicinsulation, organic packaging, organic coolers, organic plant pots andthe like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Materials are produced today using a range of processes ranging fromtime intensive outdoor growth and harvesting to energy intensive factorycentric production. As demand for raw goods and materials rise, theassociated cost of such materials rises. This places greater pressure onlimited raw materials, such as minerals, ores, and fossil fuels, as wellas on typical grown materials, such as trees, plants, and animals.Additionally, the production of many materials and composites producessignificant environmental downsides in the form of pollution, energyconsumption, and a long post use lifespan.

Conventional materials such as expanded petroleum based foams are notbiodegradable and require significant energy inputs to produce in theform of manufacturing equipment, heat and raw energy.

Conventionally grown materials, such as trees, crops, and fibrousplants, require sunlight, fertilizers and large tracts of farmable land.

Finally, all of these production processes have associated wastestreams, whether they are agriculturally or synthetically based.

Fungi are some of the fastest growing organisms known. They exhibitexcellent bioefficiency, of up to 80%, and are adept at converting rawinputs into a range of components and compositions. Fungi are composedprimarily of a cell wall that is constantly being extended at the tipsof the hyphae. Unlike the cell wall of a plant, which is composedprimarily of cellulose, or the structural component of an animal cell,which relies on collagen, the structural oligosaccharides of the cellwall of fungi relay primarily on chitin. Chitin is strong, hardsubstance, also found in the exoskeletons of arthropods. Chitin isalready used within multiple industries as a purified substance. Theseuses include: water purification, food additives for stabilization,binders in fabrics and adhesives, surgical thread, and medicinalapplications.

Given the rapid growth times of fungi, its hard and strong cellularwall, its high level of bioefficiency, its ability to utilize multiplenutrient and resource sources, and, in the filamentous types, its rapidextension and exploration of a substrate, materials and composites,produced through the growth of fungi, can be made more efficiently, costeffectively, and faster, than through other growth processes and canalso be made more efficiently and cost effectively then many syntheticprocesses.

Numerous patents and scientific procedure exists for the culturing offungi for food production, and a few patents detail production methodsfor fungi with the intent of using its cellular structure for somethingother than food production, For instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,056discloses a process for the production of “fungal pulp”, a raw materialthat can be used in the production of paper products and textiles.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method forthe culturing of filamentous fungi specifically for the production ofmaterials and composites composed in part, or entirely of, hyphae andits aggregative form, mycelia and mycelium.

It is another object of the invention to provide a composite structuremade in part of cultured fungi.

It is another object of the invention to provide an enclosure forgrowing composites.

It is another object of the invention to provide a mixture of particlesfor use in the growing of filamentous fungi to produce a compositematerial.

Briefly, the invention provides a method for producing grown materialsand, in particular, provides a method of using the growth of an organismto produce materials and composites.

In accordance with the invention, a fungi is cultured for the productionof a material using the vegetative phase of the fungi.

This method uses the growth of hyphae, collectively referred to asmycelia or mycelium, to create materials composed of the fungi cellulartissue. This method expressly includes the growth of hyphae to createcomposites, utilizing particles, fibers, meshes, rods, elements, andother bulking agents, as a internal component of the composite, wherethe hyphae and other cellular tissue and extra cellular compounds act asa bonding agent and structural component.

In one embodiment, the method of making a composite material comprisesthe steps of forming an inoculum including a preselected fungus; forminga mixture of a substrate of discrete particles and a nutrient materialthat is capable of being digested by the fungi; adding the inoculum tothe mixture; and allowing the fungus to digest the nutrient material inthe mixture over a period of time sufficient to grow hyphae and to allowthe hyphae to form a network of interconnected mycelia cells through andaround the discrete particles thereby bonding the discrete particlestogether to form a self-supporting composite material.

Where at least one of the inoculum and the mixture includes water, theformed self-supporting composite material is heated to a temperaturesufficient to kill the fungus or otherwise dried to remove any residualwater to prevent the further growth of hyphae.

The method may be carried out in a batchwise manner by placing themixture and inoculum in a form so that the finished composite materialtakes on the shape of the form. Alternatively, the method may beperformed in a continuous manner to form an endless length of compositematerial.

The method employs a step for growing filamentous fungi from any of thedivisions of phylum Fungi. The examples that are disclosed focus oncomposites created from basidiomycetes, e. g., the “mushroom fungi” andmost ecto-mycorrhizal fungi. But the same processes will work with anyfungi that utilizes filamentous body structure. For example, both thelower fungi, saphrophytic oomycetes, the higher fungi, divided intozygomycetes and endo-mycorrhizal fungi as well as the ascomycetes anddeutoeromycetes are all examples of fungi that posses a filamentousstage in their life-cycle. This filamentous stage is what allows thefungi to extend through its environment creating cellular tissue thatcan be used to add structural strength to a loose conglomeration ofparticles, fibers, or elements.

The invention also provides materials and composite materials, whosefinal shape is influenced by the enclosure, or series of enclosures,that the growth occurs within and/or around.

Basically, the invention provides a self-supporting composite materialcomprised of a substrate of discrete particles and a network ofinterconnected mycelia cells extending through and around the discreteparticles and bonding the discrete particles together.

In accordance with the invention, the discrete particles may be of anytype suited to the use for which the material is intended. For example,the particles may be selected from the group consisting of at least oneof vermiculite and perlite where the composite material is to be used asa fire-resistant wall. Also, the particles may be selected from thegroup consisting of at least one of straw, hay, hemp, wool, cotton, ricehulls and recycled sawdust where composite material is to be used forinsulation and strength is not a necessary criteria. The particles mayalso include synthetic insulating particles, such as, foam basedproducts and polymers.

The invention also provides structural members made of the compositematerial, For example, in one embodiment, the structural member is apanel comprised of the self-supporting composite material with a veneermaterial bonded to at least one exterior surface. Typically, the panelis of rectangular shape but may be of any other suitable shape.

The veneer may be made of any suitable material for the intended use ofthe panel. For example, the veneer may be made of paper, such as a heavyKraft paper, or of oriented strand board, corrugated paper or cardboardwhere strength is desired.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified flow chart of the method employed formaking a fungi bonded material in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic life cycle of Pleurotus ostreatus;

FIG. 3 illustrates an inoculated substrate before growth in an enclosurein accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an inoculated substrate after three days of growth inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an inoculated substrate nearing the end of the growthin accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a final composite of one embodiment composed ofnutrient particles and a bulking particle in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a final composite of one embodiment sandwichedbetween panels of oriented strand board in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a composite with internal features in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an enclosure containing a filter disk, temperaturesensor, humidity sensor and heat exchange mechanism in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates an enclosure lid with a rectangular extrusion inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a layered substrate layer in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a layered substrate with an added layer inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates hyphae growing into a layered substrate inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a plastic lattice supporting mycelium growth inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 15 illustrates a packaging egg in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a section of a wall board made in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a perspective view of an enclosure for the growth ofa fruiting body in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 18 illustrates the enclosure of FIG. 17 after a period of growth ofthe fruiting body.

Referring to FIG. 1, the method of making a self-supporting structuralmaterial is comprised of the following steps.

-   -   0. Obtain substrate constituents, i.e. inoculum in either a        sexual or asexual state, a bulking particle or a variety of        bulking particles, a nutrient source or a variety of nutrient        sources, a fibrous material or a variety of fibrous materials        and water.    -   1. combining the substrate constituents into a growth media or        slurry by mixing the substrate materials together in volumetric        ratios to obtain a solid media while the inoculum is applied        during or following the mixing process.    -   2. applying the growth media to an enclosure or series of        enclosures representing the final or close to final geometry.        The media is placed in an enclosure with a volume that denotes        the composite's final form including internal and external        features. The enclosure may contain other geometries embedded in        the slurry to obtain a desired form.    -   3. growing the mycelia, i.e. filamentous hyphae, through the        substrate. The enclosure is placed in an environmentally        controlled incubation chamber as mycelia grows bonding the        bulking particles and consuming the allotted nutrient(s).    -   3a. repeating steps 1-3 for applications in which materials are        layered or embedded until the final composite media is produced.    -   4. removing the composite and rendering the composite        biologically inert. The living composite, i.e. the particles        bonded by the mycelia, is extracted from the enclosure and the        organism is killed and the composite dehydrated.    -   5. completing the composite. The composite is post-processed to        obtain the desired geometry and surface finish and laminated or        coated.

The inoculum is produced using any one of the many methods known for thecultivation and production of fungi including, but not limited to,liquid suspended fragmented mycelia, liquid suspended spores and myceliagrowing on solid or liquid nutrient.

Inoculum is combined with the engineered substrate, which may becomprised of nutritional and non-nutritional particles, fibers, or otherelements. This mixture of inoculum and substrate is then placed in anenclosure.

In step 3, hyphae are grown through the substrate, with the net shape ofthe substrate bounded by the physical dimensions of the enclosure. Thisenclosure can take on any range of shapes including rectangles, boxes,spheres, and any other combinations of surfaces that produce a volume.Growth can occur both inside the enclosure and outside of the enclosuredepending on desired end shape. Similarly, multiple enclosures can becombined and nested to produce voids in the final substrate.

Other elements embedded with the slurry may also become integrated intothe final composite through the growth of the hyphae.

The hyphae digest the nutrients and form a network of interconnectedmycelia cells growing through and around the nutrients and through andaround the non-nutrient particles, fibers, or elements. This growthprovides structure to the once loose particles, fibers, elements, andnutrients, effectively bonding them in place while bonding the hyphae toeach other as well.

In step 4, the substrate, now held tightly together by the mycelianetwork, is separated from the enclosure, and any internal enclosures orelements are separated away, as desired.

The above method may be performed with a filamentous fungus selectedfrom the group consisting of ascomycetes, basidiomycetes,deuteromycetes, oomycetes, and zygomycetes. The method is preferablyperformed with fungi selected from the class: Holobasidiomycete.

The method is more preferably performed with a fungus selected from thegroup consisting of:

-   -   pleurotus ostreatus    -   Agrocybe brasiliensis    -   Flammulina velutipes    -   Hypholoma capnoides    -   Hypholoma sublaterium    -   Morchella angusticeps    -   Macrolepiota procera    -   Coprinus comatus    -   Agaricus arvensis    -   Ganoderma tsugae    -   Inonotus obliquus

The method allows for the production of materials that may, in variousembodiments, be characterized as structural, acoustical, insulating,shock absorbing, fire protecting, biodegrading, flexible, rigid, waterabsorbing, and water resisting and which may have other properties invarying degrees based on the selection of fungi and the nutrients. Byvarying the nutrient size, shape, and type, the bonded bulking particle,object, or fiber, size, shape, and type, the environmental conditions,and the fungi strain, a diverse range of material types, characteristicsand appearances can be produced using the method described above.

The present invention uses the vegetative growth cycle of filamentousfungi for the production of materials comprised entirely, or partiallyof the cellular body of said fungi collectively known as mycelia.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of the life cycle of PleareotusOstreatus, filamentous fungi. The area of interest for this invention isthe vegetative state of a fungi's life cycle where a fungi is activelygrowing through the extension of its tube like hyphae.

In this Description, the following definitions are specifically used:

Spore: The haploid, asexual bud or sexual reproducing unit, or “seed”,of a fungus.

Hyphae: The thread-like, cellular tube of filamentous fungi which emergeand grow from the germination of a fungal spore.

Mycelium: The collection of hyphae tubes originating from a single sporeand branching out into the environment.

Inoculum: Any carrier, solid, aerated, or liquid, of a organism, whichcan be used to transfer said organism to another media, medium, orsubstrate.

Nutrient: Any complex carbohydrate, polysaccharide chain, or fattygroup, that a filamentous fungi can utilize as an energy source forgrowth.

Fruiting Body: A multicellular structure comprised of fungi hyphae thatis formed for the purpose of spore production, generally referred to asa mushroom.

Fungi Culturing for Material Production

Methodology

Procedures for Culturing Filamentous Fungi for Material Production.

All methods disclosed for the production of grown materials require aninoculation stage wherein an inoculum is used to transport a organisminto a engineered substrate. The inoculum, carrying a desired fungistrain, is produced in sufficient quantities to inoculate the volume ofthe engineered substrates; inoculation volume may range from as low as1% of the substrates total volume to as high as 80% of the substratesvolume. Inoculum may take the form of a liquid carrier, solid carrier,or any other known method for transporting a organism from one growthsupporting environment to another.

Generally, the inoculum is comprised of water, carbohydrates, sugars,vitamins, other nutrients and the fungi. Depending on temperature,initial tissue amounts, humidity, inoculum constituent concentrations,and growth periods, culturing methodology could vary widely.

EXAMPLE 1 Production of a Grown Material Using an Enclosure

Plearotus Ostreatus, or any other filamentous fungi, is cultured from anexisting tissue line to produce a suitable mass of inoculum. Theinoculum may take the form of a solid carrier, liquid carrier, or anyother variation there of.

To produce a grown material using an enclosure based manufacturingtechnique, the following steps are taken:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Disposition of the substrate within an enclosure or series of        enclosures with voids designed to produce the desired final        shape.    -   3. Inoculation of the substrate within the enclosure with the        inoculum containing the desired fungi strain.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Removal of the substrate from the enclosure or enclosures.

Alternatively, the method may use the following steps:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Inoculation of the engineered substrate with the inoculum        containing the desired fungi strain.    -   3. Disposition of the substrate within an enclosure or series of        enclosures with voids designed to produce the desired final        shape.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Removal of the bonded engineered substrate from the enclosure        or enclosures.

Alternatively, the method may use the following steps:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Inoculation of the engineered substrate with the inoculum        containing the desired fungi strain.    -   (Growing of fungi through the engineered substrate in an        enclosure such that the entire engineered substrate could be        considered an inoculum. The substrate may be partially agitated        during this time, or broken up before proceeding to step 3.)    -   3. Disposition of the engineered substrate inoculum within an        enclosure or series of enclosures with voids designed to produce        the desired final shape.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Removal of the bonded engineered substrate from the enclosure        or enclosures.

As in other disclosed embodiments, the bonding of the grown material isderived primarily from the fungi cellular body, mycelia, that formsthroughout and around the engineered substrate. The overall propertiesof the material are set by the behavior of multiple particles, fibers,and other elements, acting in concert to impart materialcharacteristics, much like in the creation of other composites. Theenclosure or enclosures sets the final shape that of the material.

Referring to FIG. 2, the life cycle of Pleurotus ostreatus proceeds fromzygote formation (1) to ascus (2) with multiplicity of ascopores (3) andthen to hypha formation (4) with the hyphae being collectively calledmycelium (5).

Grown Material within an Enclosure, First Embodiment—FIGS. 3-6

FIG. 3 shows a side view of one embodiment i.e. an insulating composite,just after inoculation has taken place.

In this embodiment, a group of nutritional particles 1 and a group ofinsulating particles 2 were placed in an enclosure 5 to form anengineered substrate 6 therein. The enclosure 5 has an open top anddetermines the final net shape of the grown composite. Thereafter, aninoculum 3 was applied directly to the surface of the engineeredsubstrate 6.

Shortly after the inoculum 3 was applied to the surface, hyphae 4 werevisible extending away from the inoculum 3 and into and around thenutritional particles 1 and insulating particles 2.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the same embodiment described above, i.e. aninsulating composite, approximately 3 days after the inoculum 3 wasapplied to the surface of the engineered substrate 6. Hyphae 3 have nowpenetrated into the engineered substrate 6 and are beginning to bondinsulating particles 2 and nutritional particles 1 into a coherentwhole.

FIG. 5. shows a side view of the same embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, i.e.an insulating composite, approximately 7 days after the inoculum 3 wasapplied to the surface of the engineered substrate 6. Hyphae 3,collectively referred to as mycelia 7, have now fully colonized the tophalf of engineered substrate 6, bonding insulating particles 2 andnutritional particles 1 into a coherent whole.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the same embodiments of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5,i.e. an insulating composite, after the engineered substrate 6 has beenfully colonized and bonded by mycelia 7. A cutaway view shows a detailof a single insulating particle bound by a number of hyphae 4. Alsoshown within this embodiment are fibers 9 bound within mycelia 8.

EXAMPLE 2 Layered Molding

To produce a grown material using a “layered enclosure based”manufacturing technique, the following steps are taken:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate composed partially or        entirely of nutritional particles, fibers, and other elements,        and composed partially or entirely of non-nutritional particles,        fibers, and other elements.    -   2. Disposition of a fraction of the engineered substrate to an        enclosure or series of enclosures with voids designed to produce        the desired final shape.    -   3. Inoculation of the substrate within the enclosure with the        inoculum containing the desired fungi strain or type.        Inoculation can also occur during the substrate creation stage,        prior to moving the substrate into the enclosure or series of        enclosures.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Adding, as desired, additional layers of the engineered        substrate or additional layers of an engineered substrate with a        differing composition.    -   6. Growing the desired fungi strain through the additional layer        of the engineered substrate.    -   7. Repeating, as necessary, to develop desired feature height,        material size, and material composition.    -   8. Removal of the bonded engineered substrate from the enclosure        or enclosures.        Alternatively, the method may use the following steps:    -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate composed partially or        entirely of nutritional particles, fibers, and other elements,        and composed partially or entirely of non-nutritional particles,        fibers, and other elements.    -   2. Inoculation of the engineered substrate within the enclosure        with the inoculum containing the desired fungi strain or type.    -   3. Disposition of a fraction of the engineered substrate to an        enclosure or series of enclosures with voids designed to produce        the desired final shape.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Adding, as desired, additional layers of the engineered        substrate or additional layers of an engineered substrate with a        differing composition.    -   6. Growing the desired fungi strain through the additional layer        of the engineered substrate.    -   7. Repeating, as necessary, to develop desired feature height,        material size, and material composition.    -   8. Removal of the bonded engineered substrate from the enclosure        or enclosures.

EXAMPLE 3 Continuous Production

To produce a grown material using a “continuous based” manufacturingtechnique the following steps are taken:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate composed partially or        entirely of nutritional particles, fibers, and other elements,        and composed partially or entirely of non-nutritional particles,        fibers, and other elements.    -   2. Disposition of the substrate to an open-ended enclosure or        series of enclosures with continuous voids designed to produce        the desired final shape.    -   3. Inoculation of the substrate within the enclosure with the        inoculum containing the desired fungi strain or type.        Inoculation can also occur during the substrate creation stage,        prior to moving the substrate into the enclosure or series of        enclosures.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Moving the substrate through the open ended enclosure such        that the initial inoculated substrate volume reaches the end of        the enclosure as hyphae growth has reached maximum density    -   6. Moving the bonded engineered substrate out of the open-ended        enclosure.

EXAMPLE 4 Static Embodiment—Composite

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a mycelia bondedcomposite composed of nutritional particles, bulking particles, fibers,and insulating particles. In this embodiment of a mycelia bondedcomposite, the following growth conditions and materials were used: Theengineered substrate was composed of the following constituents in thefollowing percentages by dry volume:

-   -   1. Rice Hulls, purchased from Rice World in Arkansas, 50% of the        substrate.    -   2. Horticultural Perlite, purchased from World Mineral of Santa        Barbra, Calif., 15% of the substrate.    -   3. DGS, dried distillers grains, sourced from Troy Grain Traders        of Troy N.Y., 10% of the substrate.    -   4. Ground cellulose, composed of recycled paper ground into an        average sheet size of 1 mm×1 mm, 10% of the substrate.    -   5. Coco coir, sourced from Mycosupply, 10% of the substrate.    -   6. Inoculum composed of rye grain and inoculated with Plearotus        Ostreatus, 3% of the substrate.    -   7. Birch sawdust, fine ground, 2% of the substrate by volume.    -   8. Tap water, from the Troy Municipal Water supply, was added        until the mixture reached field capacity, an additional 30% of        the total dry substrate volume was added in the form of water.

These materials were combined together in a dry mix process using arotary mixer to fully incorporate the particles, nutrients, and fibers.Water was added in the final mixing stage. Total mixing time was 5minutes.

The enclosures were incubated for 14 days at 100% RH humidity and at atemperature of 75° Fahrenheit. The enclosures serve as individualmicroclimates for each growing substrate set. By controlling the rate ofgas exchange, humidity can be varied between RH 100%, inside anenclosure, and the exterior humidity, typically RH 30-50%. Eachrectangular enclosure fully contained the substrate and inoculumpreventing gaseous exchange. Opening the enclosures lids after 5 and 10days allowed gaseous exchange. In some cases, lids included filter disksallowing continuous gas exchange.

After 14 days of growth, the enclosures were removed from the incubator.The loose fill particles and fibers having been bonded into a cohesivewhole by the fungi's mycelium produced a rectangular panel withdimensions closely matching those of the growth enclosure. This panelwas then removed from the enclosure by removing the lid, inverting thegrowth enclosure, and pressing gently on the bottom.

The mycelia bonded panel was then transferred to a drying rack within aconvection oven. Air was circulated around the panel until fully dry,about 4 hours. Air temperature was held at 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

After drying, the now completed composite is suitable for directapplication within a wall, or can be post processed to include otherfeatures or additions including water resistant skins, stiff exteriorpanel faces, and paper facings.

Within the above embodiment, the ratios and percentages of bulkingparticles, insulating particles, fibers, nutrients, inoculum, and watercan be varied to produce composites with a range of properties. Thematerials expanded perlite compositions can vary from 5%-95% of thecomposite by volume. Other particles, including exfoliated vermiculite,diatomic earth, and ground plastics, can be combined with the perlite orsubstituted entirely. Particle sizes, from horticultural grade perliteto filter grade perlite are all suitable for composite composition andmany different composite types can be created by varying the ratio ofperlite particle size or vermiculite or diatomic earth particle size.

Rice hulls can compose anywhere from 5-95% of the composite material byvolume. Fibers can compose from 1-90% of the material by volume. DGS cancompose between 2-30% of the substrate by volume. The inoculum, when inthe form of grain, can compose between 1-70% of the substrate by volume.The inoculum, when in other forms can comprise up to 100% of thesubstrate. Ground cellulose, sourced from waste paper, can compose from1-30% of the substrate by volume.

Other embodiments may use an entirely different set of particles fromeither agricultural or industrial sources in ratios sufficient tosupport the growing of filamentous fungi through their mass.

Though not detailed in this preferred embodiment, the engineeredsubstrate can also contain elements and features including: rods, cubes,panels, lattices, and other elements with a minimum dimension 2 timeslarger than the mean diameter of the largest average particle size.

In this embodiment, the fungi strain Pleurotus ostreatus was grownthrough the substrate to produce a bonded composite. Many otherfilamentous fungi's could be used to produce a similar bonding resultwith differing final composite strength, flexibility, and water sorptioncharacteristics.

In this embodiment, the substrate was inoculated using Pleurotusostreatus growing on rye grain. Other methods of inoculation, includingliquid spore inoculation, and liquid tissue inoculation, could be usedwith a similar result.

Incubation of the composite was performed at 100% RH humidity at 75°Fahrenheit. Successful incubation can be performed at temperatures aslow as 35° Fahrenheit and as high as 130° Fahrenheit. RH humidity canalso be varied to as low as 40%.

Drying was accomplished using a convection oven but other methods,including microwaving and exposing the composite to a stream of cool,dry air, are both viable approaches to moisture removal.

EXAMPLE 5 FIG. 7—Static Embodiment—Panel System with Composite Core

Referring to FIG. 7, by adding stiff exterior faces to the rectangularpanel described in Example 2 (FIG. 6), a panelized system composed of amycelia bonded core and exterior facing system can be created. Thispanelized system has superior strength characteristics due to theaddition of stiff exterior faces.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of this embodiment. Using a core 10, asproduced in Example 2, the two primary faces of the rectangular panel 10are bonded to two sheets 11 of oriented strand board (OSB). Anair-curing adhesive was used in conjunction with clamps to secure theOSB faces to the mycelia bonded core.

The process described above produces an embodiment of the mycelia bondedinsulating composite with exterior facing. This panel, composed of amycelia bonded core and two stiff exterior faces, is suitable for use ina range of applications including: doors, cubicle walls, basementpaneling, SIP house construction, conventional insulating applications,roof insulation, table tops, and other applications where a panel/coresystem is used.

In this example, an air curing adhesive, such as gorilla glue, was used.However, a range of adhesives, including thermoset resins and othertypes could be used to produce a bond between the mycelia bondedcomposite core and the exterior faces.

In another embodiment, samples have also been produced where theexterior faces are placed in vitro during the incubator process. Thegrowth of the filamentous fungi directly bonds the exterior faces to themycelia bonded composite core producing a panelized system that can beused immediately after drying. It is the belief that in the case of acellulose exterior skin (OSB) bonding occurs both through myceliasurface adhesion and through fungi growth into the cellulose of theexterior skin. In the case of a non-digestible exterior skin, bonding isbelieved to occur through mechanical adhesion between surfacecharacteristics, features, and the mycelia hyphae.

EXAMPLE 6 Static Embodiment—Composite with Unique Shape and InternalFeatures

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a mycelia bondedcomposite composed of nutritional particles, bulking particles, fibers,and insulating particles. This embodiment includes a void near thecenter that is preserved in the final composite. The preferred use forthis composite is a packing material wherein the device to be packed iscompletely, or partially, placed within a void or series of voids formedby the grown composite.

In this embodiment of a mycelia bonded composite, the following growthconditions and materials were used: The engineered substrate wascomposed of the following constituents in the following percentages bydry volume:

-   -   1. Rice Hulls, purchased from Rice World in Arkansas, 50% of the        substrate.    -   2. Horticultural Perlite, purchased from World Mineral of Santa        Barbra Calif., 15% of the substrate.    -   3. DGS, dried distillers grains, sourced from Troy Grain Traders        of Troy N.Y., 10% of the substrate.    -   4. Ground cellulose, composed of recycled paper ground into an        average sheet size of 1 mm×1 mm, 10% of the substrate.    -   5. Coco coir, sourced from Mycosupply, 10% of the substrate.    -   6. Inoculum composed of rye grain and inoculated with Plearotus        Ostreatus, 3% of the substrate.    -   7. Birch sawdust, fine ground, 2% of the substrate by volume.    -   8. Tap water, from the Troy Municipal Water supply, was added        until the mixture reached field capacity, an additional 30% of        the total dry substrate volume was added in the form of water.

These materials were combined together in a dry mix process using arotary mixer to fully incorporate the particles, nutrients, and fibers.Water was added in the final mixing stage. Total mixing time was 5minutes.

After mixing, the inoculated substrate was transferred to a series ofrectangular enclosures. Lids were placed on these enclosures containingblock shaped extrusions. These extrusions produced corresponding netshape voids in the loose fill particles as indicated in FIG. 8.

The enclosures were incubated for 14 days at 100% RH humidity and at atemperature of 75° Fahrenheit. The enclosures serve as individualmicroclimates for each growing substrate set. By controlling the rate ofgas exchange, humidity can be varied between RH 100%, inside anenclosure, and the exterior humidity, typically RH 30-50%. Eachrectangular enclosure fully contained the substrate and inoculumpreventing gaseous exchange. Opening the enclosures lids after 5 and 10days allowed gaseous exchange. In some cases, lids included filter disksallowing continuous gas exchange.

After 14 days of growth, the enclosures were removed from the incubator.The loose fill particles and fibers have now been bonded into a cohesivewhole by the fungi's mycelium producing a rectangular object with a netshape closely matching that of the growth enclosure. This net shapeincludes a corresponding void where the enclosure lid's extrusionintersected the substrate. This panel was then removed from theenclosure by removing the lid, inverting the growth container, andpressing gently on the bottom.

The mycelia bonded panel was then transferred to a drying rack within aconvection oven. Air was circulated around the panel until fully dry,about 4 hours. Air temperature was held at 130° Fahrenheit.

After drying, the now completed composite is suitable for directapplication as a packaging material or can be post processed to includeother features or additions including water resistant skins, stiffexterior panel faces, and paper facings.

Within the above embodiment, the ratios and percentages of bulkingparticles, insulating particles, fibers, nutrients, inoculum, and watercan be varied to produce composites with a range of properties. Thematerials expanded perlite compositions can vary from 5%-95% of thecomposite by volume. Other particles, including exfoliated vermiculite,diatomic earth, and ground plastics, can be combined with the perlite orsubstituted entirely. Particle sizes, from horticultural grade perliteto filter grade perlite are all suitable for composite composition andmany different composite types can be created by varying the ratio ofperlite particle size or vermiculite or diatomic earth particle size.

Rice hulls can compose anywhere from 5-95% of the composite material byvolume. Fibers can compose from 1-90% of the material by volume. DGS cancompose between 2-30% of the substrate by volume. The inoculum, when inthe form of grain, can compose between 1-30% of the substrate by volume.Ground cellulose, sourced from waste paper, can compose from 1-30% ofthe substrate by volume.

Other embodiments may use an entirely different set of particles fromeither agricultural or industrial sources in ratios sufficient tosupport the growing of filamentous fungi through their mass.

Though not detailed in this preferred embodiment, the engineeredsubstrate can also contain internal elements including: rods, cubes,panels, lattices, and other elements with a dimension minima 5 timeslarger than the mean diameter of the largest average particle size.

In this embodiment, the fungi strain Pleurotus ostreatus was grownthrough the substrate to produce a bonded composite. Many otherfilamentous fungi's could be used to produce a similar bonding resultwith differing final composite strength, flexibility, and water sorptioncharacteristics.

In this embodiment, the substrate was inoculated using Pleurotusostreatus growing on rye grain. Other methods of inoculation, includingliquid spore inoculation, and liquid tissue inoculation, could be usedwith a similar result.

Incubation of the composite was performed at 100% RH humidity at 75°Fahrenheit. Successful incubation can be performed at temperatures aslow as 35° Fahrenheit and as high as 130° Fahrenheit. RH humidity canalso be varied to as low as 40%.

In this embodiment, only one void of a square shape was shown, but sucha product could include multiple voids in many shapes to match thedimensions of product enclosed within the voids.

EXAMPLE 7 Growth Enclosure—FIG. 9

Referring to FIG. 9, a square growth enclosure is provided with a lid toproduce composite panels with an equivalent net shape. The panels areproduced using a process similar to that outlined in example 1 and 2.

The shape of the enclosure used for composite production determines theeventual shape of the final product. In FIG. 9, the orthogonallyoriented sides, left 13 and front 14, form a corner with bottom 15, thiscorner feature, as other enclosure induced net shapes, will bereplicated in the grown composite.

Beyond producing the equivalent net shape of a grown composite, theenclosure provides a number of other unique functions. These include:gas exchange regulation, humidity regulation, humidity sensing,temperature sensing, and heat removal.

FIG. 9 shows a filter disk 16 that is sized and calibrated to the shapeand volume of the growth enclosure. This filter disk 16 allows thegrowing organism to respirate, releasing CO2 and up taking O2, withoutthe exchange of other particles in the room. This disk 16 also allowssome moisture to travel from substrate to the incubation environment,and vice versa. Typically, a filter disk system would be passive,designed to allow the correct respiration rate for the specificsubstrate, fungi type, and volume of material, growing within theenclosure. In some cases, where active control over an individualincubation environment is desired, a filter disk could have an aperturethat is dynamically altered to slow or increase the rate of gaseousexchange with the incubation environment.

FIG. 9 also shows a temperature control mechanism 17, comprised of anetwork of tubing 20, that can be used to remove or add heat to theenclosure. The growth of fungi relies on a decomposition reaction.Hence, in most cases where additional heat control is required beyondthat provided by the convective interactions occurring along theexterior enclosures surface, it will be in the form of heat removal. Anetwork of tubes or other heat exchange mechanism allows both moreprecise control over the amount of heat removed or added to theenclosure and allows an overall greater amount of heat to be removed oradded to the growth enclosure in a shorter period of time.

FIG. 9 also shows a temperature sensor 18 and humidity sensor 19. Thesesensors measure the internal temperature and humidity of the enclosure,respectively. This data can then be transmitted to a collection unit foranalysis, or be used to alter the environment of the enclosure throughthe dynamic re-sizing of a filter disk aperture or through changes intemperature made possible through the temperature control mechanism.

FIG. 10 shows a growth enclosure lid with a protrusion 21. When this lidis used in conjunction with a matching bottom growth enclosure, theprotrusion 21 will effect the overall net shape of the enclosed volumeproducing features in the grown composite that relate directly to thosein the lid, such as protrusion 21. Such a process was used to producethe composite shown in FIG. 8 where the lid, shown in FIG. 10 has aprotrusion 20, that modifies the enclosed net volume of its growthenclosure producing a unique feature 12 within composite 10 (see FIG.8).

EXAMPLE 8 Growth Enclosure—FIGS. 11, 12, and 13.

Growth enclosures may become part of the final product in part, or intheir entirety. FIGS. 11 through 13 illustrate just such a case.

In FIG. 11, the growth enclosure 5 and growing mycelium 4 are boundedonly by the bottom and sides of the growth enclosure.

In FIG. 12, a stiff sheet 11 comprised of OSB (oriented strand board) orother suitable veneer is added to the enclosure 5, fully defining thevolume of the growth enclosure. In this case, the enclosure cover wasselected from a group comprising wood, and other cellulosic structures.As such, the fungi, Plearotus ostreatus, a cellulosic decomposer, beinggrown through the enclosure, was able to naturally bond itself to thetop portion of the panel by growing along and into the surface of thematerial.

FIG. 12 illustrates the growth of mycelia 4 into the stiff sheet 11.When this composite is removed from the enclosure, the stiff sheet 11will be included in the final product.

FIG. 13 illustrates an alternative embodiment of this same conceptwherein the stiff sheet 11 is enclosed between two opposing layers ofmycelia bonded core.

Growth enclosures comprised entirely or in part of stiff or flexiblesheets 11 may be permanently attached to part, or all, of the finishedproduct through the growth of mycelium. This includes bags that hold aform, bags that are flexible and can be formed into shapes within anenclosure, and other means for containing a slurry.

Another example where such a process might occur uses a flexible paperbag as the growth enclosure. This bag is filled with engineeredsubstrate and the mycelium is grown through the substrate as describedin Example 1. Bonding of the substrate to the bag occurs through thegrowth of the mycelium and, when dried, a product comprising a bondedengineered substrate and exterior paper skin is produced

The above methods of bonding assume that cellular interactions due tothe cellulosic decomposition of the substrate enclosure are the primarymethod of bonding but this need not be the only case of mycelia andpartial enclosure adhesion (enclosure in this case is meant to compriseany stiff or flexible material in contact with an engineered substrateduring growth).

Other methods of bonding include ‘roughening’ the surface of the objectto bond or adding protrusions to the surface of said object. Theseprotrusions may be only a fraction of a millimeter tall (in the case ofroughening) or may be up to 20 cm tall, extending into the engineeredsubstrate. Protrusions may take the form of: hooks, circular poles,cones, rectangular columns, capped columns or poles, triangles, or otherfeature shapes that allow mycelia to favorably interact with the surfaceto produce a bonding force

EXAMPLE 9 Structure or Lattice for Mycelium Growth—FIG. 14

Mycelia based composites may be grown without the explicit use of aloose fill particle substrate. In fact, by creating a highly organizedgrowth substrate, formations of mycelia composites can be created thatmight not normally arise when growth is allowed to propagate naturallythrough loose particles.

One way of adding an engineered structure to mycelium composites is toproduce a digestible or non-digestible 3-d framework within which themycelium grows. This framework may be formed from the group including:starch, plastic, wood, or fibers. This framework may be orientedorthogonally or oriented in other ways to produce mycelia growthprimarily along the axis's of the grid. Additionally, this grid may beflexible or rigid. Spacing between grid members can range from 0.1 mm toupwards of 10 cm.

Growth along these engineered grids or lattices results in myceliumcomposites with highly organized hyphae strands allowing the design andproduction of composites with greater strength in chosen directions dueto the organized nature of the supporting mycelia structure.

Such an arrangement also allows the development of organized myceliumstructures composed primarily of hyphae rather than of bulking andnutritional particles.

To produce one embodiment of such a structure the following steps aretaken:

Referring to FIG. 14, a three-dimensional lattice, formed of sets of 1mm×1 mm plastic grids 14 oriented orthogonally, is coated in a mixtureof starch and water. This mixture is composed of 50% starch, and 50% tapwater by volume. These materials were sourced as organic brown riceflour, and tap water, from the Troy N.Y. municipal water supply,respectively.

This lattice is placed on in a bed of inoculum containing Plearotusostreatus on a suitable nutrient carrier. The lattice and inoculum bedare then placed in an environment held at the correct temperature,between 55-95 degrees Fahrenheit, and humidity, between 75% RH and 100%RH, to stimulate mycelia growth.

FIG. 14 shows a cutaway of a grid based mycelium composite. Only twointersecting grids are shown, but the composite would actually becomposed of a series of grids extending axially spaced 1 mm apart. Gridsquares have an edge length of 1 mm. Here, mycelium 8 is shown growingthrough the grids 14. This thickly formed mycelia mat forms the bulk ofthe volume of the composite.

The mycelium is grown over and through the grid producing a densenetwork of oriented hyphae. Over time, the hyphae will interweaveproducing a dense 3-D mat. After 1 to 2 weeks of growth, the grid isremoved from the incubator and dried, using either a convection oven, orother means to remove the water from the mycelium mass. Once dried themycelia composite can be directly used, or post processed for otherapplications.

Within this embodiment, the grid may or not provide the mycelia anutrient source, but if nutrients are not provided within the gridframework, the grid must be placed in close proximity to an inoculumcontaining a nutrient source as to allow the fungi to transportnutrients into the grid based mycelium for further cellular expansion.

EXAMPLE 10 A Biodegrading Plant Pot

Using one of the production methods outlined in Examples 1 and 2, amycelium composite can be grown that resembles a conventional plant pot.This composite could have a composition and production processes similarto that described in Example 4, or could have differing nutrient andbulking particles, as well as differing fibers. The key features of sucha composite would be

-   1. A shape similar to existing plant pots with a void for soil-   2. A shape comprised of particles and fibers bounded by mycelium    such that the roots of a plant could easily grow through the shape.-   1. A shape similar to existing plant pots without a void for soil    wherein the seed or seedling is placed directly into the composite    material.-   2. A shape comprised of particles and fibers bounded by mycelium    such that the roots of a plant could easily grow through said shape.-   3. A shape comprised of particles and fibers and sufficient    nutrients to support continued plant growth

EXAMPLE 11 An Acoustic Dampening Panel

In accordance with the procedure outlined in Examples 1 and 2 and theparticle and growth conditions outlined in Example 4, an acousticaldampening panel could be produced for use within the home, automobile,or other situation where sound attenuation is desired. This productwould use a variety of bonded fibers and particles to produce panelswith varying sound attenuation rates for a set range of frequencies.

EXAMPLE 12 A Rigid Firewall

In accordance with the procedure outlined in Examples 1 and 2 and theparticle and growth conditions outlined in Example 4, a firewall panelcould be produced for use within the home, automobile, or othersituation where fire protection is desired. In this panel the bondedparticles would be composed primarily of Perlite, Rice Hulls, orVermiculite.

EXAMPLE 13 Production Using Feature Molding

Production of a grown material using an enclosure and feature molding,i.e. a tool or other object to create a feature relief within a growingshape of substrate.

Plearotus Ostreatus, or any other filamentous fungi, is cultured from anexisting tissue line to produce a suitable mass of inoculum. Theinoculum may take the form of a solid carrier, liquid carrier, or anyother variation there of.

To produce a grown material using a molding based manufacturingtechnique, the following steps are taken:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Disposition of the substrate within an enclosure or series of        enclosures with voids designed to produce the desired final        shape.    -   3. Inoculation of the substrate within the enclosure with the        inoculum containing the desired fungi strain.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Forcefully molding additional features into the engineered        substrate by compressing a tooling piece with extruded features        into one of the faces of the engineered substrate.    -   6. Allowing the living substrate to recover.    -   7. Removal of the substrate from the enclosure or enclosures.        Alternatively, the method may use the following steps:    -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Inoculation of the engineered substrate with the inoculum        containing the desired fungi strain.    -   3. Disposition of the substrate within an enclosure or series of        enclosures with voids designed to produce the desired final        shape.    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures.    -   5. Forcefully molding additional features into the engineered        substrate by compressing a tooling piece with extruded features        into one of the faces of the engineered substrate.    -   6. Allowing the living substrate to recover.    -   7. Removal of the bonded engineered substrate from the enclosure        or enclosures.

EXAMPLE 14 Packaging Egg—FIG. 15

Using the manufacturing process described in Examples 1 and 2, adistinctly unique packaging material can be created that makes use ofthe mycelium bonders ability to form a continuous material. By placing athree dimensional object to be packaged in a enclosure and thensurrounding the object with an engineered substrate, bound by mycelium,a packaging material can be created that exactly fits every surface ofthe packaged object. This packaging material is continuous around thepackaged object, and because of its tight fit will better protect apacked object than the current state of the art that uses “near netshape” packing buffers to hold objects in place.

Such a product is detailed in FIG. 15 wherein a continuous packagingmaterial was formed around an object 23 to form a package.

The packaging material is characterized in being rupturable intodiscrete sections along a break surface 25, as shown in FIG. 15, toallow removal of the sections from the object 23. Alternatively, aribbon 24 can be wrapped about the object 23 to extend through thepackaging material to an external surface of the packaging material forrupturing the packaging material into discrete sections for removal fromthe object 23.

Upon receipt of the packing egg, the end user opens the packaging eggeither by breaking the material along one of its axis, or pulling on anincluded ribbon 24, as shown, or a string or tab. Once opened, the usercan then remove the protected object 23.

A packaging egg can be made using the same substrate and processesdescribed in example 4 and examples 1 and 2 respectively. Substrateparticle and fiber choice will be governed by the overall materialcharacteristics of the egg. A denser packaging material will necessitatedenser bulking particles, while a lighter more compressible egg wouldrely on lighter particles, such a rice hulls.

Briefly, the following steps can be undertaken to produce a packagingegg: To produce a grown packaging egg using an enclosure basedmanufacturing technique, the following steps are taken:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Disposition of the substrate within an enclosure or series of        enclosures with voids designed to produce the desired final        shape.    -   3. Disposition of the product to be packaged within the loose        substrate.    -   4. Inoculation of the substrate within the enclosure with the        inoculum containing the desired fungi strain.    -   5. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures and around the        material to be packaged.    -   6. Removal of the substrate from the enclosure or enclosures.

Alternatively, the method may use the following steps:

-   -   1. Creation of an engineered substrate comprised of nutritional        particles, fibers, non-nutritional particles, and other        elements.    -   2. Inoculation of the engineered substrate with the inoculum        containing the desired fungi strain.    -   3. Disposition of the substrate within an enclosure or series of        enclosures with voids designed to produce the desired final        shape.    -   4. Disposition of the product to be packaged within the loose        substrate    -   4. Growing the desired fungi strain through the engineered        substrate within the enclosure or enclosures and around the        afore mentioned packaged material.    -   5. Removal of the bonded engineered substrate from the enclosure        or enclosures.

Alternatively, the product to be packaged may be placed in the enclosurebefore the addition of the substrate, during the addition of thesubstrate, or after addition of the substrate.

Growth, substrate type, fungi strain, and incubation details are similarto those outlined in EXAMPLE 4 though all of these variables can bemodified to produce packaging eggs with different material propertiesand behavior

Briefly, a packaging egg is composed of a fully internal or partiallyinternal element surrounded by a continuous skin or material wall. Thiswall is preferably composed of a particles, fibers, and other elementsbound by mycelium that has been grown through the elements.

The packaging egg, as described, has a number of unique advantages.First, the material is biodegradable, so the user can dispose of thematerial into their garden, or other natural space, after use, reducinglandfill load. Second, the continuous nature of the grown packagingmaterial provides both better protection during shipment and acts as atamper proof seal preventing unauthorized access to the packagedelement. Third, the packaging egg can be produced with minimal toolingcosts as the formable substrate will assume the net shape of bothenclosure and packaged element.

EXAMPLE 15 Wall Panel with Molded Features—FIG. 16

FIG. 16 shows a composite panel, produced in accordance with theproduction processes described in Examples 1, 2, & 3, with a staticembodiment and composition similar to that described in Example 4.

The panel that also includes a number of wall elements, such as aconduit 26, an electrical outlet 27 and wires 28, that are embedded inthe composite material of the panel and have an end in communicationwith an exterior surface of the composite material. These elements areincluded within the panel during the growth processes in such a mannerthat they become part of the final monolithic composition. Theseelements may be selected from the groups comprising: generic conduit,electrical wiring, electrical outlets, light switches, sensors,temperature controls, window frames, door jams, heating conduit, orpiping.

Additionally, such elements may be positioned within the panel such thatwhen panels are placed edge to edge the internal elements interfacealong the mating edge.

Such a panel could be produced and sold as is, without additionalprocessing, or could be combined with the stiff exterior faces, asdescribed in Example 5, to produce a full section for use in assemblinga home. Such a wall section could have all relevant elements includedduring growth such that final assembly would constitute only connectingmatching panels and internal elements together.

EXAMPLE 16 Fruiting Body Manufacturing FIG. 17 and FIG. 18

All embodiments described previously have used the mycelium, or “rootstructure”, of a growing fungi to bond particles, fibers, and objects,into composite bodies. Alternatively, the fruiting portion of a Fungican be molded during its growth for use as binding material.

FIG. 17 details such a process. Here a lighting element 29 is used toinduce fruiting within a species that shows a light sensitive response.Other known methods of inducing fruiting are also valid includingvarying atmospheric conditions, time, temperature, or humidity.

Once fruiting has been initiated, one or more fruiting bodies 31 beginto grow out of a substrate 32 as described above. These fruiting bodieswill rapidly expand in size over the next few days. By enclosing thefruiting bodies within an enclosure 33, the final shape of the fruitingbody can be controlled. This allows the production of ‘net shape’composites composed entirely of fungi hyphae. These composites can bemolded into any shape within the realm of fruiting body size including:bricks, cylinders, spheres, and any other combination of surfaces thatproduces a volume.

Additionally, fruiting bodies may be grown around elements or objects,either to add additional material characteristics, such as tensilestrength, to the final composite, or as a method for enclosing anelement for shipping. FIG. 17 details such an arrangement where acylindrical element 30 is positioned within the enclosure 33 and abovethe fruiting bodies 31.

FIG. 18 details the same arrangement of FIG. 17 after 4 days of growth.Now fruiting bodies 31 have expanded in size taking on the overall netshape of the enclosure 33. They have also been forced to grow up andaround the cylindrical element 30 partially enveloping the cylindricalelement 30 with hyphae comprised tissue.

After an additional 4 days, the fruiting bodies 31 will have fullyfilled the enclosure 33 while also surrounding cylindrical element 30.The mass of hyphae, now in the net shape of the enclosure 33, andcontaining the cylindrical element 30, can be removed from the enclosureand dried. This product is now suitable for application as a buildingmaterial, in block form, or as a packaging material where thecylindrical element 30 is the desired element to be protected duringshipping.

When elements are included within the molded fruiting body, the finalproduct can be considered somewhat analogous to the Packaging Eggdescribed in Example 14 having many of the same advantages including:

First, the material is biodegradable, so the user can dispose of thematerial into their garden, or other natural space, after use, reducinglandfill load. Second, the continuous nature of the grown packagingmaterial provides both better protection during shipment, and also actsa tamper proof seal, preventing unauthorized access to the packagedelement. Third, the product can be produced with minimal tooling costsas the formable fruiting body will assume the net shape of bothenclosure and packaged element.

To produce one embodiment of a fruiting body molded product, thefollowing steps are taken:

A substrate 32 suitable to support fungi growth of the preferred speciesis created. Differing fungi species create an immense range of fruitingbodies, some as hard as wood with significant rot resistance, and somequite weak biodegrading rapidly after moisture exposure. Within therange of fruiting bodies, each growth has different application areasfrom building materials to packaging materials.

In one embodiment, the substrate 32 is comprised of sterilized rye grainsourced from Troy Grain Traders in Troy N.Y. The grain is saturated withwater and then sterilized by autoclaving at 15 psi for 45 minutes. Aftercooling, the grain is inoculated with Plearotus ostreatus. This fungi isallowed to colonize the grain in a grain jar held between 55-85 degreesFahrenheit for 1-3 weeks, or until the grain is fully colonized.

After the fungi is fully established on the grain, the inoculatedsubstrate 32 is then transferred to a suitable fruiting enclosure, asdescribed in FIGS. 17 and 18. Fruiting of Plearotus ostreatus isaccomplished by lowering the CO₂ concentration in the ambientatmosphere, lowering the temperature slightly, and exposing thesubstrate to a light. These steps help to initiate pinning, apre-fruiting process. Once pinning has begun, a suitable enclosure, inthis case a rectangular box 3 inches tall and 2 inches on either side,is placed over the pinning substrate.

The fungi's fruiting bodies, oyster mushrooms in this case, are thengrown into the enclosure taking on the net shape of the box. During thistime, the substrate 32 and enclosure 33 are held at 75 degreesFahrenheit and RH % 90-100.

After the growing fruiting bodies reach the top of the enclosure 33, theentire element, comprised of fruiting body and enclosure, are separatedfrom the substrate 32. This fruiting body, that has now assumed the netshape of the enclosure, is removed and dried and can now be used abuilding material, or other product, or can be further post processedfor other products including being cut into sheets or formed.

The substrate 32 can be fruited multiple times in multiple locations toproduce a number of formed fruiting bodies.

Alternative Substrates

Organic materials can be implemented in the mycelium insulation growthprocess as insulating particles and the complex carbohydrate. Currently,insulating particles such as vermiculite or perlite are bound within themycelium cellular matrix, but other natural materials have identical ifnot superior insulating characteristics, such as:

Straw/Hay/Hemp: material is either woven into a mesh or laid within theslurry mixture, as the mycelium grows the material is bound forming aninsulation panel with variable layer thickness.

Wool/Cotton: the material is woven into a fibrous mesh or fragmentedforming small insulating particles that a bound within the mycelium asit grows. The slurry can be applied directly to the mesh or theparticles can be mixed in during the slurry production. The particlematerial can be grown or obtained from reused clothing that contains alarge percentage of wool/cotton.

Recycled sawdust can replace the current polysaccharide, which is a formof starch or grain, as the mycelium food source during the early growthstages. Sawdust can be collected from businesses that create the dust asa byproduct or from natural collections methods.

The insulating particles can consist of new, recycled, or reusedsynthetic particles, which are already known to have insulatingproperties or leave a detrimental environmental footprint. Materialscurrently considered include:

Foam Based Products: recycled and reused foam insulators or foamgarbage, such as Styrofoam cup and packaging, which are broken intosmall particles of varying or congruent sizes and applied to the slurry.The foam material can be obtained from existing disposed of material ornewly fabricated products.

Rubber/Polymers: these materials can be found in a myriad of products,which can be reused after the desired life-cycle of the aforementionedproduct is reached. The material can be applied into the slurry as aground particle or implemented as a structural member within the growthin various configurations.

The invention thus provides a new method of producing grown materials.These materials may be flexible, rigid, structural, biodegradable,insulating, shock absorbent, hydrophobic, hydrophilic, non-flammable, anair barrier, breathable, acoustically absorbent and the like. All of theembodiments of this invention can have their material characteristicsmodified by varying the organism strain, nutrient source, and otherparticles, fibers, elements, or other items, included in the growthprocess.

Further, the invention provides a composite material that can be usedfor various purposes, such as, for construction panels, wall boards, andthe like where fire-resistant characteristics are required. Also, theinvention provides a composite material that is biodegradable.

The preferred method described above for killing the growing organism,i.e. a fungi, in order to stop further growth is by heating to above 110degrees Fahrenheit, there are a number of other ways that this same taskcan be accomplished. These include (a) dehydrating—by placing themycelium bonded substrate in a low humidity environment; (b)irradiating—by using a technique similar to that found in foodpreservation; (c) freezing—wherein the mycelium bonded substrate has itstemperature lowered to below 32 degrees Fahrenheit; and (d)chemically—wherein the mycelium bonded substrate is exposed to achemical known to cause cellular death in fungi including, but notlimited to, bleach solutions, high concentrations of petrochemicals, andhigh concentrations of acids.

What is claimed is:
 1. A panel comprising a self-supporting compositematerial formed of a substrate of discrete particles selected from thegroup consisting of straw, hemp, wool, recycled sawdust and cotton, anda network of interconnected mycelia cells produced from the groupconsisting of at least one of Agrocybe brasiliensi, Flammulinavelutipes, Hypholoma capnoides, Hypholoma sublaterium, Morchellaangusticeps, Macrolepiota procera and Coprinus comatus and extendingthrough and around said discrete particles and bonding said discreteparticles together, said composite material having at least one exteriorsurface of a predetermined length and a thickness less than said length;and a veneer material bonded to said exterior surface and wherein saidpanel is a structural insulating panel.
 2. A panel as set forth in claim1 wherein said composite material is of rectangular shape and saidveneer is made of paper.
 3. A panel as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidcomposite material is of rectangular shape and said veneer is made oforiented strand board.
 4. A panel as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidcomposite material is of rectangular shape with a pair of said exteriorsurfaces and with a veneer material bonded to each said exteriorsurface.